The Plant Hunter: A Quest for Nature's Next Medicines

Nature on My Mind Series • Sharon Forks Library • Cumming, GA

Ever taken an aspirin? Thank a willow tree for that. Ever received a shot of numbing medication at the dentist’s office prior to a procedure? That was originally discovered in a plant too—the cocoa plant from the Andes. What about a painkiller for surgery? Morphine from opium poppy really takes the edge off the post-op pain. Plants are the basis for an array of lifesaving and health-improving medicines we all now take for granted. Ethnobotanist Dr. Cassandra Leah Quave shows us how important studying plants is while sharing her own incredible journey as told in her memoir The Plant Hunter: A Scientist’s Quest for Nature’s Next Medicines.

Join Dr. Quave at 2 PM on Sunday, April 21st at Sharon Forks Library (2820 Old Atlanta Road, Cumming, GA 30041) for a FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC event.

Following the lecture, Dr. Quave will have hardcover copies of her book for sale as well as some special items to showcase from the Emory University Herbarium.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH • Research Triangle Park, NC

The Spirit Lecture and Award, inaugurated by the NIEHS Diversity Council in 2002, recognizes outstanding women in science who have achieved balance in their lives. Successfully navigating today’s workplace involves balancing responsibilities for families, jobs, and the multiple roles in which they participate. In addition, these women mentor and provide outreach to the wider community, all of which compete for their time and talents. In recognition of Women’s History Month, the selected honoree is invited to share her experiences with the NIEHS community at an annual talk and award ceremony. The NIEHS Spirit Lecture became a part of the Diversity Speaker Series in 2018.

Location: Hybrid event on Zoom and in person at NIEHS Building 101, Rodbell Auditorium, located at 111 TW Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, N.C. 27709

1. Time: 11:00 a.m.-noon

2. Speaker(s): Cassandra Quave, Ph.D., Emory University

3. Zoom link

Piedmont Park • 1301 Monroe Dr NE, Atlanta, GA 30306

Join us for a fun day of science and exploration at the Atlanta Science Festival Exploration Expo! No registration required. The Emory Herbarium will have a booth at the Expo in Piedmont Park. Children and adults are all welcome! Learn more about the Expo at the ASF Website.

Carter Presidential Library & Museum • 441 Freedom Pkwy NE, Atlanta, GA 30307

Join leading medical ethnobotanist and explorer, Dr. Cassandra Quave, as she shares the story of her quest to develop new ways to fight illness and disease through the healing powers of plants. Blend your own tea and create a DIY herbarium keepsake to take home!

This event is brought to you through the Atlanta Science Festival in partnership with the Carter Presidential Library and Museum and the Emory University Herbarium!

Advance tickets required! $12 tickets can be purchased here under the registration link.

Emory University Goodrich C. White Hall, Room 208 • 301 Dowman Dr, Atlanta, GA 30322

Presented by Emory University Center for the Study of Human Health, Small-r Films, and Novo Nordisk Foundation

Advance registration required.

What if you found out that, on a cellular level, you, your body at least, is more microbial than human… way more! And what if it wasn’t just your body that is more microbial than it seems, but that almost everything, all life on earth, is made possible by microbes? The concept of the Holobiome captures this reality and also beckons us to reconsider our understanding of health and infectious disease, along with our relationship to the microbial world. This event features two innovative short films that explore this emergent, holobiome, understanding of life and health as well as a panel of experts to answer and help audience members navigate the questions raised by these films.

Film 1 (20min) is a documentary featuring the harrowing tale of a young woman and her mother confronting what happens when the human immune system becomes compromised and the drugs stop working.

Film 2 (18min) is a sci-fi / documentary hybrid explores the future past of biotechnology and the need for innovation and more innovative thinking in our relationship with infectious diseases and the microbial world.

Expert panelists include:
Maryn McKenna (moderator) - author and science journalist
Cassandra Quave, PhD - medical ethnobotanist, Emory University
Michael Graziano - the filmmaker
CDR Alison Laufer Halpin, PhD - genomic epidemiologist, CDC
Bradley Burnam - survivor & CEO, Turn Therapeutics

McMaster University - Toronto, Canada

Speaker: Dr. Cassandra Lee Quave, Professor, Dermatology and Human Health Department, Emory University School of Medicine

“Ethnobotany and the targeted discovery of antimicrobials from nature”

Host: Dr. Eric Brown

Delivered In Person in HSC 4E20

More information.

Georgia Institute of Technology Library • 260 4th Street Northwest, Atlanta, GA 30332

Join the Georgia Tech Library Thursday, Feb. 29 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Scholars Event Network Theater, located on Price Gilbert’s first floor, for an exploration into rare 17th and 18th century herbal books and a conversation about the modern uses of medicinal plants.

This event includes a lecture and book signing with The Plant Hunter Dr. Cassandra Quave, whose work connects herbal books from the 17th and 18th centuries to today’s understanding of medicinal plants. 

In her adventure-filled memoir, The Plant Hunter, Quave tells the story of her quest to develop new ways to fight illness and disease through the healing powers of plants.

Following the lecture, attendees will be able to examine herbal manuals from the Georgia Tech Library’s Archives and Special Collections depicting plant illustrations and their medicinal or practical uses during the 17th and 18th centuries. Experts will detail how these books were used and distributed, as well as their contributions to knowledge about medicine and natural history at the time of their publication. 

Free and available online or in person. Registration required.

Join Dr. Quave, Dr. Gary Nabhan, and other experts on medicinal plants for a workshop at the San Diego Botanic Garden! Please register here by February 24.

Medicinal plants have been used to aid human health from time immemorial. From traditional uses to modern medicine, they offer innumerous health benefits. Many have dedicated their lives to sharing the knowledge of their use. Join us for an informative and inspirational multi-speaker workshop to help build knowledge and understanding of our connection to the healing powers of plants. 

The workshop will be opened by “Nature’s Pharmacy" with Dr. Quave, “The Plant Hunter”. The answer to some of the world’s most pressing problems could be held within our oldest remedies! Join award-winning author, explorer, and host of the Foodie Pharmacology podcast, Dr. Cassandra Quave, as she shares the story of her quest to develop new ways to fight illness and disease through the healing powers of plants. Create your own tea blend and grab a signed copy of The Plant Hunter, hailed as one of the best books of 2021 by Kirkus!

Additional experts and practitioners of traditional medicine will give insights into improving human health through using smell, taste, and touch to connect with medicinal plants, including:

Bringing Native Plants into the Holistic Healing Toolkit with Brophy Toledo (Native American Healer from Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico) 

Many people find their curative agents in native medicinal plants, and some Western doctors work hand in hand with traditional healers, including Brophy, to find optimal health outcomes for patients in need. Brophy will talk to us about and demonstrate the importance of our connection with the planet, connection with the plants, and connection with all the other living organisms that has allowed for traditional healing to remain important since ancient times through modern days and still going strong into the future.

Fragrance gardens and their health benefits in the face of climate change with Gary Nabhan (Distinguished Professor in Arizona)

As a designer of desert fragrance gardens, agave gardens and contemplative gardens, ethnobotanist Gary Nabhan will discuss fresh research of the health benefits of fragrant native desert herbs, shrubs and agaves in the face of climate change and the increasing epidemic of diseases of oxidative stress. He will also discuss the health benefits of involving youth in hands-on ecological restoration of native habitats.

Connecting People to Medicinal Plants with Corinne Feinberg (Pathlight Healing Herbalist in San Diego) 

This will be a first-hand experience of the medicinal benefits of plants that reminds us that herbal medicine doesn't have to be purely based in rote memorization, but rather felt experience of imbibing a single-herb tea/infusion internally can provide a whole host of understanding about the medicinal aspects.  It will be an opportunity for participants to notice how palpable herbal medicine is in their bodies and realize the potential of plants to communicate through our senses.

Cost: Members $12, non-members $18. Workshop fees include Garden admission and lunch.

Class format: In-person, indoors

Please register here by February 24.